University Southern California Trojans
No. 2 USC Aims For Another UCI Invitational Title
February 23, 2011 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 23, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The No. 2 USC women's water polo team enters this year's UCI Invitational as the defending champion as the Trojans (6-1) are the No. 2 seed into this weekend's action running Feb. 26-27 in Irvine, Calif. USC's first game puts the Trojans up against No. 18 UC San Diego at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Anteater Aquatic Complex, with an afternoon game set up against either No. 7 San Diego State or No. 10 UC Irvine. Wins on Saturday (Feb. 26) would put the Trojans in an 11:45 a.m. semifinal on Sunday (Feb. 27) against the winner from Group C, which includes No. 3 UCLA, No. 6 LMU, No. 12 Long Beach State and No. 17 UC Davis. The championship match will be at 5:15 p.m. preceded by a 4 p.m. third-place game.
IN THE RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the national preseason poll and remains there for the fifth week. The Trojans' fellow groupmates in the tournament include No. 7 San Diego State, No. 10 UC Irvine and No. 18 UC Irvine. No. 1 Stanford has the top seed in Group A, No. 3 UCLA heads up Group B, and No. 4 Cal leads Group D.
LAST WEEK
USC built up 4-0 leads in both its games last week on the way to a pair of road victories. Against Long Beach State, the Trojans blazed their way to a 14-10 win with 10 Women of Troy scoring in the victory, led by a hat trick from Patricia Jancso for her first multiple-goal game of the year. At San Diego State the next day, USC spread the wealth once again in pinning up an 11-8 win over No. 7 San Diego State in the teams' MPSF opener. Back at the site of their 2010 NCAA Championship victory, the Trojans jumped ahead 4-0 in the match with the Aztecs and kept control down the stretch. USC had four players finish with two goals apiece, as Jancso, Kristen Dronberger, Dominique Sardo and Sarah Van Norman each punched in a pair.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
The Trojans were the No. 2 seed in last year's UCI Invitational and worked their way into the title match against top seed Stanford with a 12-1 win over Long Beach State and a 15-5 win over San Jose State on day one before getting a 10-5 win over Cal in the semis. That put USC up against the Cardinal -- who had dealt the Trojans their only loss of the year to date. In the title match, USC dominated Stanford to the tune of a 9-3 lead going into the final frame for an eventual 10-6 victory that wrapped up the championship for the Trojans as well as their ninth straight win.
PUSHING THROUGH PALO ALTO
USC had a strong showing at the Stanford Invitational in the Trojans' first competition of the year. A well-rounded start saw USC post a 9-1 win over No. 15 Indiana before facing crosstown rival No. 4 UCLA later in the day. The Trojans were in control throughout, winning 10-8 to get in position for a shot at the title match. To get there, USC had to get through No. 5 Hawai'i the next morning, and the Trojans took care of that business as well with a 9-7 decision. Nadia Dan recorded hat tricks to lead USC in all three games of group play, with the Trojans facing top-ranked host Stanford in the championship match -- a rematch of the 2010 NCAA final that USC won 10-9. In this one, USC and Stanford were neck-and-neck throughout, with the Trojans forcing overtime with Kristen Dronberger's fourth goal of the game to close regulation. It was tied up again after two overtime periods to bring up sudden death, the first of which passed without a score, thanks in large part to a penalty shot save from USC goalie Flora Bolonyai. Stanford would get the winning score in the second sudden-death period, however, to claim a tight 10-9 win and get the championship for the hosts. For her 31 saves in her first four games as a Trojan, freshman goalie Bolonyai was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week.
HOME POOL ADVANTAGE
USC's win over UCLA on April 17, 2010, rounded out another undefeated home season for the Women of Troy, marking the program's eighth season overall with a flawless stand in USC's home waters. So far, USC has completed undefeated runs at home in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. USC's win streak at McDonald's Swim Stadium now stands at 19 straight after the Trojans' win in this year's home opener.
LAST SEASON
In 2010, the USC women emerged with their third national championship in beating top-seeded Stanford 10-9 in the 2010 NCAA Championship game. USC finished the year with a 25-3 overall record after going 6-1 in MPSF play with a second-place finish in the MPSF Tournament. USC's last NCAA title had come in 2004, and 2010 marked the Trojans' seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Kami Craig was named the Cutino Award winner for the second straight season, and Tumua Anae was the MPSF Player of the Year. That pair also led USC's All-American count for the season, with Craig becoming just the second Trojan to be named the National Player of the Year, joining 1999 honoree Bernice Orwig. Anae and junior Joelle Bekhazi were both First Team All-Americans along with Craig. Junior Kristen Dronberger was named to the Second Team, and senior Forel Davies was on the Third Team. That led in to a trio of Trojans earning Honorable Mention: seniors Alexandra Kiss and Kally Lucas and freshman Patricia Jancso. Jovan Vavic picked up his third selection as the National Women's Coach of the Year - each of which has followed national championships for his Women of Troy (1999, 2004 and 2010).
